For three years, the robocalls controversy has been a source of great intrigue in our country. At long last, we may be finally getting closer to finding out the truth.

The story is well known to most Canadians.

More than 6,000 voters in Guelph, Ont. were sent to the wrong polling station on the day of the 2011 federal election. This group of people, primarily Liberal Party supporters, were furious and wanted answers. The robocalls were eventually traced back to RackNine Inc., an Edmonton-based company. A mysterious figure, who used a disposable phone and went by several aliases, including “Pierre Poutine,” logged into his account with the telephone marketing firm to send out the calls.

This revelation raised more than a few eyebrows. Canada’s political left began to salivate over the possibility of a grand conspiracy by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Tories to mislead voters in other ridings.

Well, that’s not quite what happened.

Only one individual, former Tory junior staffer Michael Sona, was formally charged by Elections Canada. He was found guilty on Thursday in a Guelph courtroom.

Ontario Superior Court Judge Gary Hearn’s verdict was clear. He believed Sona, “beyond a reasonable doubt...was involved with the creation and implementation of the scheme to direct voters to the wrong polling station.” Hearn acknowledged “the evidence indicates (Sona) did not likely act alone,” but the judge felt he was “a party to the offence.”

Sona will be sentenced in October. It’s not clear if his legal team will appeal the decision.

In the meantime, some Canadians are baffled by this decision. How could a junior staffer have concocted such an elaborate scheme to deceive thousands of voters? Are the federal Tories simply throwing a former party loyalist under the proverbial bus? Does Hearn’s theory about other individuals possibly being involved in Pierre Poutine’s l’affaire robocalls hold water?

Here are my thoughts.

I wasn’t involved in the 2011 federal campaign in any way, shape or form. I’ve also never met Sona, and therefore have no personal opinion about him.

At the same time, I’ve always strongly doubted Harper and his senior political advisers had anything to do with the robocalls controversy. I’m sorry, but they wouldn’t be stupid enough to throw away their reputations to win a majority government at all costs.

Yes, there have been senior Tories, like Harper’s former chiefs of staff Nigel Wright and Ian Brodie, who’ve made mistakes. There’s a big difference between doing something politically or personally foolish (which they did) vs. doing something potentially illegal, however.

It was therefore always far more likely to me that junior staffers and grassroots party supporters - possibly aided by a rogue senior staffer - were behind the robocalls.

This wasn’t an elaborate scheme, as some have suggested, but rather a low-level, sloppy campaign. A disposable cellphone with a life of its own, packets of calling cards, and a fake name associated with a popular Quebecois dish is hardly the stuff of legends. There has also been enough conjecture, loose ends and tall tales from former Guelph staffers that would make an honest man out of Baron Münchhausen.

Ever since the time of former U.S. president Richard Nixon and Watergate, we’ve held this false notion that senior officials are the only ones capable of deception. Alas, junior staffers, feeding off their own inflated egos and self-importance, are more than devious enough to do the same thing.

In all likelihood, I believe that’s what happened during Canada’s robocalls controversy.

* Michael Taube is a Washington Times columnist and a former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.